AGE OF INNOCENCE

One of the many joyful moments in the life of a retiree or a senior citizen could be his occasional solo drive to a place not too far from home and staying there a couple of days or more, peacefully enjoying the new surroundings and the company of some new people as well. Having said so, I am reminded of a trip to a small town a few months back which was a little over five hours drive from home. I had started the journey alone hoping that there wouldn't be any mishaps on the way including tyre punctures as I find it quite bothersome to change tyres. My trustworthy nine year old Honda City sedan with a set of relatively new tyres gave me confidence to undertake the journey. Since I find it tiring to drive at night, I started early to reach the place a little before sunset. ........................ I was on my way to the small town well prepared with medicine and various other essentials that old people need to carry on a road trip and after a couple of hours driving, I stopped at a cool and shady place on the highway to stretch, limber up and enjoy the beauty of the lush green rural landscape. After sometime a group of cheerful but talkative children, probably from one of the nearby villages, turned up with the intent of selling some fresh home grown fruits and vegetables. One little girl carried a couple of good sized papayas in her small cane basket and wanted to sell one of them, but when I offered to buy both at her stated price, she refused to sell and went away in a huff. I was perplexed by her action and on asking her friends about it, one of them explained that she was unhappy because I wanted to buy both the papayas when she was ready to sell only one and if I had taken both she would have nothing to sell the rest of day. Another child helpfully added that Runi, which I took to be the little girl's name, did not like old people like me. When I asked why, he said he had no idea. After this rather helpful conversation I tried to resume my journey but noticed that the children were still lingering on, perhaps eager to continue talking to me for some more time. So I obliged by waiting a bit and answering many of their queries, mostly about the car I drove. I saw Runi stay a little away from the group but she was listening to what was being discussed. I finally bade them goodbye and was on my way once again, wondering what could be the reason for little Runi to dislike old people like me. ........................ My next stop was after two hours at a roadside dhaba for a simple lunch. A sturdy young boy came to take my order for a light vegetarian meal which was made ready quite quickly. When the boy came to my table to serve the food, I chatted with him for a while and learnt that he had to drop out from school and work, in order to support his father in running their household. The father who was a farmer and the son together earned enough for sustaining their small family of five members at the nearby village. After the meal, I proceeded towards the car and found to my dismay that one of the rear tyres was completely flat. I managed to take out the stepney, jack, wheel spanner and other tools from the trunk and started to loosen the wheel nuts but found them jammed, which meant I would have to put in a lot of extra effort to unfasten them. As I was struggling with the work, the young boy came over and offered to help. I gladly accepted the offer and he took over the work and completed it with remarkable ease. Feeling greatly relieved, I gave him a generous tip which in my opinion he fully deserved. The boy realized that without his help, it would have been an uphill task for me to change the tyres. He revealed that he had learnt a bit of automobile repair work from his father who was very good with various types of mechanical repairs as he had the experience of working in a garage when he was a teenager. He also added that his father was much younger and stronger than me and changing a car tyre was no big deal for him. Having said that, he wanted to know why at my old age I was taking the risk of traveling alone. I tried to explain that age is just a number (which I have heard or read umpteen times but never gave much credence to it) and immaterial if one is mentally and physically fit to take up long and arduous tasks but the boy did not seem convinced even for a second, having seen my struggle with the tyres. ........................ I reached the destination well on time and made myself comfortable at the small and cosy cottage I had booked for a two night stay. The caretaker took care of the needs of guests including meals. He also tended the beautiful flower garden in front of the cottage. After a good night's sleep, I woke up early the next morning and decided to go out for a stroll. As I got out of the cottage I could see two little girls with tiny baskets plucking flowers from the garden. I good humouredly asked who they were and why were they plucking flowers from someone else's garden. The little girls were unperturbed and one of them coolly declared that they were "flower thieves" and that they steal flowers for "Puja" at their homes. I pointed out that it was morally wrong to steal flowers from other people's homes but she did not agree and insisted that stealing flowers was not a sin if they are meant for "Puja". With this new found wisdom I left the little girls to their task and proceeded to walk around the neighbourhood. ........................ My return journey home through the countryside was pleasant but uneventful. I started early as usual and made my first stop at the place where I tried to buy papayas and actually hoped that the little children I had met earlier would be there to greet me. I waited patiently for them to appear but unfortunately they did not turn up that day which quite inexplicably made me acutely miss their company as also their sweet innocence of childhood.